Yahoo News Sony Shutters TriStar TV, Jennifer Turner Among Duo Leaving (Exclusive)
Sony Pictures Television is shuttering its TriStar TV banner.
Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that TriStar TV exec vp Jennifer Turner and senior vp development Nicole Norwood are leaving as the division is being folded into the larger Sony TV fold. No additional layoffs are expected to come as part of the move.
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Reps for Sony declined comment.
The decision to absorb TriStar TV into the larger Sony Pictures Television fold comes at a time of industry-wide consolidation as streamers, networks and studios alike right-size their programming and staffing needs in an era of belt-tightening following the end of the Peak TV phenomenon.
TriStar TV’s mission was to champion diverse, authentic characters and underrepresented voices. Those values have since been incorporated into the larger studio, overseen by Katherine Pope, to whom Turner reported. Sony Pictures Television Studios’ drama department will now oversee the development of current TriStar TV projects.
Sources say Sony execs had been reconsidering TriStar TV’s strategy and made the move to consolidate the boutique label into the larger development group in a move akin to its former Gemstone label.
TriStar TV’s roster included AMC’s Lucky Hank, Apple’s The Afterparty, Showtime’s On Becoming a God in Central Florida and more.
For her part, Turner led TriStar TV since January 2022, when she took over for Kathryn Busby after the latter departed to run originals at Starz. Before that, Turner spent the prior six years at Sony Pictures Television and working on shows including The Good Doctor, The Blacklist and The Boys, among others. Prior to that, she was vp drama at NBCUniversal, where she helped develop shows including Friday Night Lights and Crossing Jordan. Before that, she was director of current programming at ABC and worked on Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy and Lost.
Norwood joined TriStar TV in late 2022 as senior vp development, reporting to Turner. She departed a role as director of local language originals for Italy at Netflix to join TriStar. Before that, Norwood worked at ABC Studios, where she handled a few Sony-produced shows like The Good Doctor and Lost, among others.
Borys Kit contributed to this story.
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